Gil M. Soffer is the National Co-Chair of Katten's White Collar Defense, Internal Investigations and Compliance Practice. He also serves as the Hiring Partner for Katten's Chicago office. Mr. Soffer joined the firm in August 2000 after six years as a federal prosecutor. His practice is devoted to white collar criminal litigation and counseling, with a focus on corporate fraud cases. In particular, Mr. Soffer concentrates on matters involving health care fraud and the False Claims Act; corporate investigations; and anti-fraud counseling and litigation.
In January 2008, Mr. Soffer accepted a position as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General in Washington, D.C., and shortly thereafter was appointed Associate Deputy Attorney General. During his year-long term with the Department of Justice, Mr. Soffer advised the Deputy Attorney General on criminal matters at the Department, with particular emphasis on corporate fraud prosecutions. He played an integral role in drafting the Department's Corporate Monitor Principles and Corporate Charging Principles, and provided training on the latter policy to U.S. Attorneys' Offices nationwide. Mr. Soffer also managed the President's Corporate Fraud Task Force and briefed members of Congress about criminal matters within the Department of Justice.
Mr. Soffer had previously served in the Department of Justice when he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney's Office in Chicago (1994-2000). In that capacity, he prosecuted a wide range of federal crimes, including bank, mail, wire, tax and insurance fraud; narcotics and firearms trafficking; bank robbery; embezzlement; and money laundering. In November 1996, Mr. Soffer received the Director's Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from Attorney General Janet Reno.
Mr. Soffer graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1986 and earned his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1989. Upon graduating from law school, Mr. Soffer clerked in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois under Judge John A. Nordberg. After his clerkship, Mr. Soffer became an associate with the law firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen in San Francisco, where he practiced in the general litigation department.
Mr. Soffer is a member of the American Bar Association and is admitted to practice in Illinois and California. He has served as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Law School, where he taught Federal Criminal Prosecution. Mr. Soffer lectures regularly on subjects ranging from corporate internal investigations to deferred prosecution agreements, and has often appeared as a legal expert on television news programs. In November 2009, Mr. Soffer testified before Congress about the use and selection of corporate monitors in criminal cases. He also served as a member of the ABA's Task Force on Corporate Monitors.
In December 2009, Mr. Soffer was appointed by Illinois Governor Quinn to serve as a Commissioner on the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission. The nine-member Commission was formed to promote ethics in the executive branch of public service and to ensure that state business is conducted with fairness and integrity. Toward that end, the Commission adjudicates alleged violations of the Illinois Ethics Act and provides guidance to the state's ethics officers.